Sunday, September 07, 2014

This was my find of the day; a crisp, 1965 edition in dustjacket of "If I Were a Bird", illustrated and signed by Artur Marokvia.

I have always loved Marokvia's delicate and whimsical illustrations and rarely pass up the opportunity to pick his books up second-hand. I am always surprised at the fact that they aren't considered to be collectible. Here are a few other titles written by his wife Mireille that I have had over the years:

Aren't they adorable?

The Marokvias met in Paris where Mireille was a schoolteacher and Artur was an art student. They married 1939 but World War II would keep them apart for several years as Artur was called to service. As soon as they were able, they emigrated to the United States and settled in New York where Artur found work as a magazine illustrator and Mireille worked for Brooks Costumers. It's in New York that they began their children's book collaborations; each featuring a French-themed character.

I'll continue to grab every Marokvia book I see and I encourage you to do the same. They are lovely whimsical stories brimming with clever little observations about French life. So what if they aren't collectible? They'll do very nicely just as they are.